mass action handbook
getting your community on the road and into the street

risk & fear

be aware that your perception
of risk and your willingness to take it will change constantly during
the action.

be aware that police behavior
is meant to intimidate you and make you afraid. while they do bite, they
do way more barking.

be aware that if we let
our fear win, we let this system win.

as hop hopkins says in this
is what democracy looks like: "that fear you're feeling is your
first taste of freedom."

risk terminology

Green: safe activities
which are supposed to run no risk of arrest or police attack either because
they are strictly legal or because they have state permits.

Yellow is classic
civil disobedience and non-violent direct action which, depending on the
situation, could result in arrest or police attack, but which also could
end up being safe.

Red are tactics
expected to attract police aggression (this could include property crime,
trying to cross police lines, or non-violent direct actions such as a
lock-down in a particularly sensitive area). Since planned red
actions are more secretive and might be organized with a small affinity
group, participants might also be more vulnerable simply because fewer
people will be around.